Women in Vorarlberg: On the bankruptcy staircase after separation!

Women in Vorarlberg: On the bankruptcy staircase after separation!

In Vorarlberg, many women are faced with severe financial challenges, who often end in a private bankruptcy. In 2024, a total of 320 cases of over -indebtedness were recorded on the basis of guarantees, with over 70 percent of these cases affected women. This worrying statistics was emphasized by Simone Strehle-Hechenberger by debt counseling, which emphasizes that a loan obligation for the ex-partner often becomes a burden if the payments should be not possible after a separation. The need to acquire financial knowledge in recent years becomes unavoidable in order not to land in later phases of life in the same precarious situations as many women have experienced. Sides like vorarlberg.orf.at .

The fatal asymmetry of liability

The situation is particularly noticeable that men often take out loans because they usually have higher incomes, while women often have to appear as a guarantor. This results in a high risk, especially with a divorce rate of 43 percent in Austria. The debt consultant warns that many women are not aware of the financial scope of their liability until it is too late. Strehle-Hechenberger explains that financial responsibility is often still traditionally seen as a male matter, which leads to a dangerous imbalance and can drive women into bankruptcy. The combination of a lack of financial knowledge and the responsibility for loans led to a worrying development, as well as oesterreich.orf.at reported.